…The castle is the soul; clearly no one has to enter it because it is in the person himself. We might as well tell someone to go into a room he is already in. There are, however, different ways of dwelling in the castle. Many souls live in the courtyard outside the building where the sentries stand, neither caring to enter further, nor to know who dwells in that most delightful place or what is in the rooms it contains…
…I was recently told by a great theologian that souls without prayer are like bodies that are paralyzed and lame, having hands and feet they cannot use. In the same way, there are souls so infirm and accustomed to thinking of nothing but earthly matters, that there seems no cure for them. It appears impossible for them to retire into their own hearts, because they have become accustomed to living outside the castle with reptiles and other creatures, and they imitate their habits. Though these souls are by their nature richly endowed and capable of communion with God himself, yet their case seems hopeless, and unless they endeavor to understand and remedy their most miserable plight, their minds will become bereft of movement…
As far as I can understand, the gate by which we enter this castle is prayer and meditation. I do not allude more to mental than to vocal prayer, because if it is prayer at all, the mind must take part in it. If a person neither considers who he is, what he is asking for, or the holy God to whom he is speaking, though his lips may utter words, I do not call it prayer…
…Let us speak no more of these crippled souls who are in a most miserable and dangeruos state, unless the Lord bids them rise as He did the paralyzed man who had waited more than thirty years at the pool of Bethesda.
We will now consider the others who at last have entered the area around the castle. They are still very worldly, yet they have some desire to do right, and at rare times commend themselves to God’s care. They think about their souls every now and then. Although very busy, they pray a few times a month with their minds generally filled with a thousand other matters-- for where their treasure is, there is their heart also. Still, they occasionally cast aside these cares, realizing for their own good the state of their souls, and that they will never reach the gate by the road they are following.
Finally they go through the gate and enter the first room in the basement of the mansion. To their dismay, they are surrounded by numerous reptiles that disturb their peace and prevent their seeing the beauty of the building. Still, it is a great gain that these persons have found their way at all…
But I think, in this lifetime, we’re all pretty much ones… until God reassures us otherwise. 